Producer episodes 1 and 2: It’s a dog eat dog world — or is it?

This week, the Producer Drama Club discusses their first impressions of the unique mockumentary-style series. Like the show itself, let's start with an interview:

Interviewer: The most talked about K-drama has just started, Producer. What are your feelings and thoughts?

Tiara: I’m still excited about Producer. It’s a mockumentary about being a Producer in the variety department of KBS. Think of the British and US show The Office with a K-drama spin to it. It’s a really neat concept. A little disjointed at first, but halfway through the first part of episode 1 you get into the groove of things. If you want to know more about the episode, come join Cici, Logan, and me to talk about the “dog eat dog world”.

Watch the premiere:

Tiara: What a tough first two days on the job for our new producer. Seung Chan has learned some tough lessons in this dog eat dog world of variety producers. What do you think of this world and the battlefield he’s going to have to learn to survive in?

Cici: It really feels like he’s been thrown to the wolves. He’s so adorkably sweet and bumbling. How will he ever learn to stand up for himself and be assertive?

Logan: At first I wasn’t sure what to make of him, he seemed so unsure of himself but as we get to know him he’s becoming more and more likeable. He does seem to keep finding himself in really unfortunate circumstances, though.

Tiara: Seung Chan totally reminds me of hi Sam Dong character from Dream High. He’s captured the fish out of water feel about him. He’s totally sweet despite being insecure about himself. I’m not sure he’s going to last long as a Producer if he can’t stand up for himself. His ground for becoming a producer was a weak one. I’m disappointed in the drama for going that route; however, I’m glad it got nipped in the bud real quickly. He totally needed to get his head out of the clouds and back on solid ground. He’s endearing, but naive. I hope he learns to endure and grow out of his shell to become a powerhouse.

Cici: I think he may surprise us. I was impressed with the way he did what he thought was right when he was sent on the punk job of telling Yoon Yeo Jung that she was out of a job. He could have just been a jerk, but he was kind. Misunderstood, but kind, nevertheless. I’m still trying to decide if she actually /did/ get what he was talking about, but just pretended not to at the dinner in order to make everyone else uncomfortable. She did make up for it by telling him that he did a good job, though.

Logan: That was the scene where Seung Chan really won over my heart. He was the only one with the courage to tell her and he had only been on the team for five hours. He wanted to give her dignity and that was very admirable. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what he meant, she was a clever lady. The other scene that I loved of his was when he tied the trash to Joon Mo’s car. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Tiara: I agree with you two on both points. Seung Chan was put in a tough situation which his Senior should have manned up and told his cast, but in the end chose to be a coward. The thing which gets my panties in a bunch is how Joon Mo took it out on his newbie. First, Seung Chan is the rockie who’s new to his position. Second, Joon Mo is the head PD who’s responsible for teaching his newbie to do his job. Third, it’s the Head PD’s responsibility to have told his cast about the new changes. He needs to put on his big boys panties and man up to do HIS job. Making your new guy do it is just making him look like a wimp in my eyes. Now Sueng Chan has a mark against him which two more could lead to termination. Sorry, but Joon Mo is a douchebag.

Cici: I was all set to hate Joon Mo, and then there was that scene where he bailed out Ye Jin and gave her a place to live. Of course, he was drunk out of his mind when he did it, but still, it was a decent thing to do. Now /she/ is a piece of work. Trying to get Seung Chan to give her a discount on the damage she did to his dad’s car, without actually asking for it, was just low. I hate people who try to get what they want through veiled threats.

Logan: Joon Mo and Ye Jin are both on my radar. They are two of the most vindictive people on the planet. Joon Mo wants revenge on Seung Chan for something that was his fault? Does that even make sense? And Ye Jin is mad at him for something that was her fault as well. The only thing that remotely charms me about these two is the fact that they’re *kind of* childhood friends. Other than that, they just make me mad.

Tiara: Joon Mo giving Ye Jin and her brother a place to stay was fairly decent. I just can’t seem to actually like him. He’s living in her old family apartment because he wanted it as a youngster. It just comes across as a little weird and like he has a motive behind it. I'm not sure yet what it is. Ye Jin comes across as prideful and stubborn who won’t admit when she’s wrong. There’s a reason why she becomes this way and I’m putting money down it has something to do with her family’s lack of money. There’s a hidden story we haven’t gotten to see to explain why she’s can’t let go of her pride. Ye Jin is growing on me as a character.

Cici: I’m wondering about where that relationship is going to go. Ye Jin’s brother has advised her to marry Joon Mo so she can get the apartment back, but that last “stamp” he gave her to seal the deal of moving in came as a surprise. Did he break up with younger girlfriend just so he could get together with Ye Jin? Is she his first love? And will they make decent human beings out of each other? Inquiring minds want to know!

Logan: I’ll admit the relationship between Ye Jin and Joon Mo does intrigue me too. The look she had on her face when she caught him and his girlfriend together made me think that she has some hidden feelings for him. I’m interested as well to see how he really feels about her.

Tiara: Ye Jin was stunned by the second stamp. Heck, I was shocked over it. Does she have feelings for Joon Mo? They’ve been friends for so long, I’m not sure if there are romantic feelings for them. The kiss was done because Joon Mo was under the influence. The rest of their interaction has been friendly, but nothing to suggest he has more than friendship on his mind. Ye Jin did look a little distressed to see Joon Mo with the “Entertainment Weekly” girl. I think it’s too soon to say what the deal is between them.

Cici: I’m betting on that relationship developing into a love interest. And I have high hopes for Seung Chan and Cindy as well. He treats her like a human being. It may take her a little while to get used to that, especially considering what it has taken for her to be successful. What did you think of the witch that’s her company’s CEO? That scene where she chewed the newbies out for not losing weight after only giving them one yam a day and making them dance for twelve hours really made me upset.

Logan: That’s what’s fun about this drama, there are so many different love possibilities. I’m also rooting for the Ye Jin/Joon Mo and Seung Chan/Cindy combos as of right now, but that could very well change. I just think Ye Jin and Joon Mo deserve each other. I hate that CEO. That’s the one thing Joon Mo and I agree on. You can tell that Cindy feels the same way about her. Those poor little girls being trained to hate themselves by Cruella De Ville. Can I be an anti-fan of a fictional character? Because if I can, I’m her anti-fan.

Tiara: I really dislike Cindy. She’s so over the top a spoiled prima donna. If she doesn’t want to be in the life, she could find a way out of the lifestyle. There are ways around contacts I don’t care what Cruella De Ville has on her. Sure, she gave two nice tips to the girls, but I don’t think it came out of the bottom of her kind heart. She sees these girls and can only see herself from back in the day. It looks like Cindy just might be the face of the company. If she’s as miserable as she puts out, she could find a legal way out of her contact or threaten the company. She seems to be just as good as her CEO when it comes to getting her way. As for the CEO, she’s totally Joon Mo’s mom. It explains why he hates Cindy’s CEO and why he wanted to take care of her by buying dinner.

Cici: I really hated Cindy in the first episode, but she kind of won me over when she went back to the newbies and told them how to sneak in food. It actually wrenched my heart a little when she told them to better yet, just go home and get out of that life. From what I understand about the contracts performers have to sign, the company pretty much owns you for /years/. For example, with JYJ, their contract was for /seventeen/ freaking years. No wonder they decided to fight it. Okay, end of rant.

Logan: I actually really like Cindy. Normally ice queens boil my blood, but what I like about her is that she’s so apathetic. She’s someone who is just exhausted, like she regrets the decisions that she’s made (or possibly been forced to make) and now has to live with the consequences. I feel like we’re going to see her warm up a lot and I’m really excited for that.

Cici: So, how would you answer the question: Dog eat dog world...or not? Will the curs turn Seung Cha into just another mean-spirited dog, or will his kindness and integrity change them?

Tiara: I think the dog is going to learn some tricks and turn the dog eat dog world into his world. Seung Chan is just too nice to give up his morals to become bitter like Cindy, prideful like Ye Jin, or coward like Joon Mo. It’s going to take time to get them to come around to his thinking, but the force is strong with this one.

Logan: I agree. I don’t think that Seung Chan is going to become mean, but I do think he’s going to learn to assert himself more. I think that he’s going to become a bolder and more ethical producer than all of them and that Joon Mo, Ye Jin, and Cindy will all learn to be a little bit more kind-hearted through his example.

Tiara: I’m happy to see a new approach in the Drama universe. It’s fresh and exhilarating to see something different and unusual. There’s time to flush out the concept to make it less jerky. It’s pacing is tad slow, but hopefully within the next episodes some speed is picked up. The real questions are what did everyone else think? Did everyone pick their OTPs already? Will Seung Chan service the cruel world of variety? Will Cindy actually smile? Will Joon Mo finally do his own dirty work? Will Ye Jin put the fear into Cindy’s CEO? Tells us in the comments below. Until next time, watch more dramas.